Girls und Panzers: The Forgotten
by GoLdOnEaGlE
Summary: A never before seen panzer with a mysterious and clouded past as well as an unlikely new team of male tankers is a great challenge for any tankery team. But now add all that to the pressure of following up a championship season, and financial instability. The girls of Ooarai face new challenges as they continue the struggle to save their school and rewrite history.
1. Chapter I

Hey guys, I'm rewriting the Lost File and I renamed it Forgotten and not because I forgot about the story, course not...hehehe...  
Anyway I hope you guys enjoy the rewriting and all OCs have remained.  
See you at the end of the chapter.

Yuzu

"I think I should have what you're looking for by tomorrow morning, Nishizumi-san. It may be hard but I'm sure I'll find something." said the cheerful class VP Yuzu to her Sensha-dou commander.

Miho smiled and noded her head in reassurance. "Thank you, Koyama-senpai. We're going to need more tanks for this semester. You sure you don't want any help?" Questioned Miho with a smile.

Yuzu shook her head and returned her commander's gesture of goodwill with a smile. "You saved our school for another year, this is the least I can do."

Miho found herself flustered by her teammates response but shook it off rather quickly.  
"It was all thanks to you guys, not me. I'll see you tomorrow."

With that Miho waved good bye to her friend and departed from the filing room, leaving Yuzu to her work. She cracked her fingers and returned to the task at hand. One after another, the VP searched through any and all filing cabinets that may disclose any information on tanks still left hidden somewhere on the Ooarai school ship. File after file, paper after paper, lead after lead, hour after hour, she searched but all she found were depressing and disappointing dead ends. All the tanks sans the ones the team already had, have either simply been melted down for scrap or sold to other schools when Ooarai decided to shut down it's tankery program twenty years ago.

_Man...are these really the only tanks left on this ship? The school can't afford to buy anymore.….This new season is_ _going to be a challenge._

While Ooarai did have what seemed like divine luck on their side this season, that luck can only last for so long. It was clear that the team was undermanned and outnumbered when compared to all the schools they faced. They needed more tanks and tankers, but the budget simply didn't allow them to go out and buy more.

Yuzu pulled out her phone to catch a glimpse of the time.

23:17….great….

She let out a quiet yawn and rubbed her eyes. Three hours of work and she had nothing to show for it. Her eyelids began to feel like lifting weights and slowly fell as the sleepy girl found herself nodding off. She snapped out of her daze and shuck her head in an attempt to gain focus and any energy she had left.

"I gotta get up and stretch. I can't let myself fall asleep." She whispered to herself

Carelessly, she leaped to her feet only to remember at the very last moment that she had been lying against a tall filing cabinet and that the top drawer was pulled out. With a loud CLANK she smashed her head against the drawer, causing the whole four foot tall cabinet to sway and inevitably fall with a tremendous CRASH next to the bewildered VP.

"...owwwww…."

The hurt Yuzu rubbed her head, trying to numb the pain before looking at the mess before her. All the files from the fallen cabinet, Sensha-dou related or not, were spilled out all over the carpet floor. The sleepy girls gave out a groan of annoyance, and set about the task of cleaning up the mess she had created. Finally, after an additional grueling thirty minutes, the files were all reorganized and now the VP set her sights on lifting the cabinet and moving it back to position. With some grunts and wheezes she slowly started to lift the dead weight back up. With a final groan, she replaced the archaic filing cabinet.

Yuzu smiled at her work. "I guess Sensha-dou is making me stronger." She giggled to herself before her eyes caught sight of two grimy files against the wall where the cabinet needed to be.

Yuzu looked at them with question upon her eyes before she slowly walked over to them. She picked up the folders and gave them a puff to rid them of their dust. She read the faded red stamp on the top file.

"Pa erka fwag I V As f - Oo r i"

The numerals in between had faded away as well as some of the letters in "Panzerkampfwagen" and "Ooarai". With curiosity peaking, Yuzu opened the file.

Inside were the damaged blueprints of a tank she has never seen before. It has the resemblance of the IV but yet something seemed off. The shape is not exactly the same and neither is the turret. It's definitely not a Panzer IV. The other paper in the file had been damaged beyond recognition with mouse bites, water damage, and a near complete coverage in grime. The only thing the brunette could make out on the sheet of paper was an old map that resembled the ship.

Written at the bottom of the manila folder was the phrase: "STILL on ship, moved to emergency reserve group." Yuzu closed the file and opened the next one with the faded red stamp: "C o Te m".

Inside was a piece of a paper that had turned yellow from age. It held within it the information of five female students who has attended the school some forty years ago. On the top of the paper was a faded image of the Ooarai emblem while at the top left was the stamp of the team's standard, but unfortunately it had slowly faded away into a black smudge. Smeared and torn photos that depicted the images of different girls were attached to the paper with a rusted paper clip. The girls looked as if they would be at least in their sixties by now. The school VP slowly pushed the paper back into the manila folder and gave a cheer of delight.

"Yes! I discovered a tank for the team….now we just need to find it."

Yuzu moved the file to a small box she brought in case she found some tank files. And with that, the 3rd year returned to her seemingly endless search in the hope of finding another vehicle for the team. Before she knew it, another hour had flown by and the clock on the wall had already struck midnight.

_tsst….I guess this is the only tank left…. I wish our treasury had more yen. Just one for win, we need to go back to back and we might have a chance to save the school._

Yuzu yawned and lifted the small box. She reorganized the tiny room and left the school to head back to her dorm for a much deserved rest.

Anzu

Anzu bite down on her apricot and turned her attention back to the two delegates standing before her. One who looked to be in her forties remained behind the younger male as he stepped forward to Anzu's desk. "We come with a proposition Kadotani-san, that can benefit both of us. I hope you may come to agree with us." He beseeched.

"Well, it surely must benefit the American Tankery Federation if you two took the time and money to make a trip out to Japan. What is it that I can do help?" Responded the class president in her normal curt tone.

The man cleared his throat and presented their case.

"For the past decade, the male population has been showing increasing support and interest in Tankery or what you call Sensha-dou. In respect of the sport, it has always been a female only sport and the Federation in fact enforces it as a female only sport. If you remember your history, since the sport's founding, it has always been female only, but during the Sexual revolution of the 70s and 80s, males showed a growing desire to compete in the sport and when this was refused, a boycott of matches was initiated until a compromise was made. They have since been able to compete in the light tank races as a substitute, what we both call tankathlon. But now, more protest and more boycotts are taking place as they feel they are being cut out from the bigger piece of the pie. Tradition and history has always been important for our country, your country and the sports we share, which includes Tankery. As a result, we are reluctant to let males enter the full field of Tankery only to abandon the sport after a few years because it was just a passing phase, like before. However-"

The American man stopped himself when he saw Anzu lift her hand to silence him. He took head to her request and held his tongue.

"All I hear is you babbling on and on about history and what not. Cut to the chase please, what does any of this have to do with my school?"

"The boys want to compete and to see if they are truly worthy, while also allowing the largest, and most prestigious Tankery Federation in the world, make the first ok, we are proposing that five boys be sent to your school as a trial team to see if males are capable of keeping up with the current female champions. And if you can report to us that they were valuable assets to the team at the end of this semester, we shall allow males to partake in this sport."

Anzu gave her classic cocky smile and provided another question to the representative.

"How are you so sure these boys are committed and how do you know they represent the general population? Do they even know Japanese? Perhaps THEY might committed, but what about the boys in general?"

The male rep wasn't the one to respond to Anzu's question this time. The bespectacled female rep stepped forward and presented what she was holding in her hands. She produced but a simple briefcase. With a flick of the wrist, she laid the case upon Anzu's desk, and, she twirled it around to face the president and revealed its content.

Anzu managed to keep her composure but Yuzu and Momo's jaws dropped from the sudden surprise. Inside of the briefcase were stacks upon stacks of crisp Japanese yen.  
The women resumed where the man left off.

"I understand your school has been facing financial difficulties. And, I understand the risk involved with taking a chance on five male tanks. The total amount you see before you is 900,000 in American dollars."

Anzu held her silence as Momo broke her own. "H...h...how is this possible and h..h..how is this even legal!? No federation can just hand out money to another team even if they are in a different country!" She shuttered out, clearly flabbergasted at what she just saw.

The women rep didn't even so much as blink when she gave her answer.

"This money is not ours. The five boys who will be joining you all, raised this money on their own. Each of them lived somewhere far off in the country and worked together despite being separated by hundreds of miles, to raise as much money as they could to prove to not only you, but to us as well, that they and the males of the nation wish to participate in this sport. This generation of males have a spark in their eyes. They embody our old ideal of Manifest Destiny and see themselves as changers who feel as if they deserve anything they work hard to achieve. Well, they have worked hard and I don't believe this is some "toy" they will toss away after they get bored with it like some kind of dog.

They are committed and I personally ask that you give them the chance to prove themselves. If they succeeded, your school will surely reap the rewards, as applications will soar through the roof when Ooarai earns itself a place in history. Forever you shall be remembered as the school that eliminated gender barriers and were able to take untested males and work with them. Your school will be an example of the future and I ask that you let them drive panzers."

The women pulled out a contract from the briefcase and placed it before Anzu without another word.

Momo leaned over and whispered into her president's ear. "We're going to need the money. There may be a storm after this but it might just be worth it. Perhaps these boys aren't as incompetent as they seem if they can raise nearly a million dollars for their cause."

Anzu eyed the Americans once more with contempt.

_We can finally make strides to get out of the red zone._

The president spoke in her manipulative voice. "What can this money be used for? The boys' necessities won't amount anywhere close to 900,000 thousand dollars. What can we do with the excess?"

The man answered her question. "Firstly the money will be used to pay for anything the boys may need to be successful both in Sensha-dou and school life which includes books, food, uniforms, both for school and the team, as well as purchasing the boys a vehicle to fight with and a place of residence. Then you can begin to pay off the school's debt with what remains."

The Pres turned to her cabinet of two and then back to the representatives.

"What if we already have a tank for the boys, but have yet to locate it?"

"Then you have until competition resumes to find it and the money originally used to buy the vehicle can be used for the school debt directly." Stated the man.

Anzu turned her chair about to gaze out upon the open sea through her office window.

Seagulls flew overhead peacefully as the massive school ship neared the Japanese coastline. Anzu looked upon the looming shadow in front of her.

"Well...Principle...can we?"

The same man that once told them their school was threaten to be shut down was once again at the forefront of this new issue. Anzu felt the chills travel down her spine when the sunlight glimmered off of his tinted glasses. To this day she still has yet to see the color of his eyes. The mysterious principle looked down upon at Anzu, and said, "If they have good information, then...I'll shall approve it."

The President spun back around to face the two Americans and stretched out her right hand to the woman. "Let's have some info on these new transfers. I can't just bring anyone onto this ship." she said curtly.

In another briefcase by the man's feet, the lady pulled out five folders. She handed them to the President and took a quick step back. Anzu shuffled through the five new problems she had to deal with.

The first boy was a third year by American standards and a second year by Japanese standards. He's tanned a light brown with emerald green eyes and black wavy hair combed forward to the top of his forehead.

The next one was a freshman by American standards, but still a junior high student for Japanese schools.

"Wait, wait, wait! We can't take this guy! He's only in middle school!" Anzu said to the woman while pointing to the culprit on the file.

She gave a simple shrug for her answer. "He has already taken summer courses to catch up and maintains a constant 4.0. To exclude him only because of his age seems rather low."

The President grumbled but then gave a smirk and a shrug of her own. This "freshman" had a mess of dirty blonde hair that looked as if an older brother had scuffed it up right before the photo was taken. His appearance didn't seem to match his academic ability, to say the least. He had a pair of auburn eyes to go with his light complexion

The one after the freshman was another second year with dark brown hair kept short and a pair of glasses over his forest brown eyes. His skin color was lighter than the first boy but darker than the freshman.

The next student turned revolutionary was a boy of Asian descent. Just like the last one, he too was a second year with glasses to cover the hazel eyes he had been given. The hair was a jet black color like the first boy but instead of being wavy, it remained straight when combed down in different "branches".

The final transfer to round out this band of misfit tank dreamers was a fiery redhead with deep blue eyes. His grade level took him to a third year status, making him the eldest, and largest of the five. Anzu replaced all the five papers into the file.

Not a single boy had any sort of record in or outside of school and all of them keep GPAs of 3.5 or higher. The only drawback Anzu could see in accepting this strange offer was the firestorm the school could receive for opening a female sport that has remained feminine for the past 100 years, but the possibilities, as the women said, could be endless if these boys proved their worth. With that the Pres turns to her VP and then to her PR manager.

Momo gives a stern nod of approval while Yuzu beams with joy. And finally Anzu turns around to the Principle. After what had to be five minutes of silence, he gives a cold nod of the head. With a quick flick of the pen, Anzu overthrew Ooarai's namesake rule: No boys.

"Thank you so much Kadotani-sama." said the woman as she collected the contract and placed the briefcase of 90 million yen before the president.

"When will these boys arrive to my school?"

The woman smiled and pointed toward the Ooarai Harbor as the ship neared closer to land.

"They should already be waiting."

The president gave a smirk. "So this was all or nothing, was it?"

The woman nodded her head. "We initially just wanted them to prove themselves in the hardest league on Earth. However, all the other major Japanese schools refused us and called us insane. You were our last chance."

Just as the two Americans were about to leave the Meeting Room, Momo stopped them with a final question. "Wait! You never answered one of our questions. Do they know Japanese? We're not going to speak English for them, this our country, and our language!"

The woman looked back half way as the male disappeared outside of the room. She gave a nod. "They are truly ready to follow their destiny. Don't take these five lightly."

Alright guys that numero uno rewritten. Hope you guys enjoyed it.

Till next time guys!

GEaGlE signing off


	2. Chapter II

**Hey guys I'm back with chapter two! I just want to answer a quick question I received from Theralion. No! The boys will never over take Miho and her team when it comes to skill and tactics. She and her team will always be the one that gives Ooarai the fighting edge and many times, the win as well. Well guys I hope you enjoy this chapter and don't forget to follow if you like it. Please review and give me some good feed back so I can make this story even better. **

**And now...ON WITH THE FIC! **

**oops****, almost forgot and the OCs i'm using will be listed at the bottom with their respected owners, make sure to check out the stories of the ones who have them.**

* * *

Normal POV(FOCUS: Ryan)

_Oh man...Oh man...Oh man...OOHH MAN!_

Ryan ducks down into the turret of his tank just in time as the shell from the Porsche Tiger whizzes overhead and explodes behind the tank, blasting several trees into smithereens. Adrenaline rushes through his veins and into his heart as time seems to slow down. _How do they deal with this madness day in and day out? _

"We need orders, Ryan!" shouts Kyle, the tanks loader to his bewildered commander.

Ryan nods his head quickly and whips away the salty sweat rolling down his forehead. Whether the sweat is coming from the humidity of the steel monster, or the unbelievable stress he is under, Ryan can not tell. The commander rises to his feet once again and peers through the slits in the turret's cupola. The menacing Porsche Tiger with it's powerful 88mm cannon is so close it nearly takes up his entire vision. It starts to realign the cannon directly for his vehicle. For the commander, it's as if he can _feel_ the eyes of the Tiger's gunner staring through his very soul, laughing at his failure as a leader and the failure of his crew._  
_

"Fire!" Ryan orders in blind rage. His own tank's 75mm cannon fires off an Armor Piercing Composite Rigid shell. If some one was to described what happened next they might say, 'It looked like someone struck the Tiger with a match,' or 'It was as if the shell was a tennis ball.' But the points in both explanations are the same: this shell with high penetration simply reflected off the P's thick four inch armor. "Oh man..."

The Tiger slowly lowers it's gun and is just about to fire when it's gets rocked by an explosion to it's weaker left side. _What!? _Ryan flings open the hatch to get a better view of the situation. A tank destroyer, another German, much smaller and shorter than the heavy, is seen from the edge of the forest. The gunner hatch on Ryan's tank flings open. "What now, Senior?" says the tank's gunner, Armand. The red head commander eyes the Tiger and notices the turret slowly rotating towards the small hidden TD, away from his own, and soon the tank's hull is also starting to shift. _This is our chance! _"Get back in the tank and get ready to fire. Have Chang load in another APCR round."

The gunner slips back into the tank and just as Ryan is about to give the orders to fire, a powerful explosion erupts behind his tank, covering the senior in dirt and dust. After the initial shock, the dumbfounded young man snaps around to see an ugly looking American tank fast approaching on his rear. "TO THE LEFT! TO THE LEFT! REVERSE!"

The tank jumps into gear and starts to quickly reverses to the left. The M3 Lee fires another round at it's target with the hull mounted 75mm cannon. The shell flies by the slightly slanted frontal armor, just barley missing it's mark. Ryan turns around to see the thick forest fast approaching. He quickly turns back at the two tanks in front of them. Shells from all four tanks fill the sky, seemingly coming from all over. There's explosions left and right, splinters from broken branches flying all over. The Hezter and the Tiger dance their dangerous dance of fire and steel to the left of his tank while to the right the M3 Lee slowly turns its whole body to get it's hull mounted 75 back into action. Sweat from Ryan's brow leaks into the eyes but he doesn't seem to notice, nor does his notice that his right foot is banging violently against the turret's steel flooring. Only adding to the confusion comes a voice from deep with in the tank that yells out in muffled panic. "CRAP! THE BREAKS ARE JAMMED!" And then, the world goes black for Ryan Kleissner.

Four days ago

Normal POV(FOCUS:Max)

It felt like an eternity but eventually the massive school ship of the town of Ooarai docked in the port with few and scattered cheering citizens. The young freshman looks on in amazement as the gigantic school ship's horn pierced through air with a deep and loud bellow. _Amazing...I hope we-_"Buzz...Buzz..."

Max's thoughts are interrupted by the buzzing of 5 phones simultaneously. Max pulls out his phone and looks at the text icon on the screen. It reads, 'From: Mrs. Proust'. Max swallows hard and looks up to the other four boys. Ryan looks at the message and takes in a deep breath. Chang cracks his neck, while Armand merely stares at the screen as if he has drawn a blank. Kyle does like Ryan and takes a deep breath. The red head Ryan is the first to speak, ending the silence.

"No matter what happens, I'm glad I got to meet you all and I'm sure we will find another way to get boys into this sport."

All four look to the senior and nod their heads with agreement. All together they unlock their phones and read the text from Mrs. Proust, the Secretary of Education for the United States. _Be grateful...You're in. Upon boarding, two young female sailors will greet you and give you a map of the ship. Make your way to ship's bridge and up to the Student President's office. Good luck at your new school boys...I'm proud of you all._ Forgetting about the suit case he has in hand, Max leaps up and down on the pier, overwhelmed with joy. "WE DIE IT!" He yells out with overflowing enthusiasm. Max observes his new classmates reactions.

Ryan beams with joy and embraces Kyle in a brotherly hug. Armand stays silent but then does quick sign of the cross and congratulates Chang. He returns Armand's congratulations and shakes hands with everyone else as well. Max smiles to himself and looks back up to the school ship now docked and taking in new the few first year transfers and releasing drop outs and other students leaving the school. Now the emotions start to reveal themselves as a single tear of joy rolls down the freshman's cheek.

_We actually did it...We have the chance to prove ourselves..._

"Guess we should be going." says the senior, Ryan to the group. The others agree and gather together their personal belongings and head towards the ship.

As the five boys make their way up the ships's wide and large gangway, Max starts to notice the strange and confused glances the boys are receiving from the female students. Some girls give glares of unease while others have a more curious look upon their face. The girls in groups talk in hushed Japanese about these strange boys that look to them to be new students.

"What are boys doing here?"

"Ya I thought this was an all girl school!"

"Hehe..I don't mind sharing a boat with a few boys...Hehe..."

"Me too, and I kinda have a thing for Americans."

"How can you tell they are Americans? They look like a bunch of mutts."

"That short one has a shirt that says 'I 3 Japan. That screams 'American'."

Max sweat drops as he looks down at his shirt. He can hear the snickers of his fellow males. _I like this sh-_UMPH! A giant of girl that seems to be at least twice the size of Max, intentionally clashes against the freshman. She whips back around towards Max. Long black hair falls down to her lower back. Dull brown eyes burrow deep into Max's own eyes, opening up the windows to his soul. "You should have never come here." she bellows in a deep manly voice to all five boys. Max can feel the goosebumps running up his arms and watches as the girl continues up the gangway. Other female freshman quickly sidestep to get out of her way.

One of the near by girls that quickly side stepped mutters under breather to her friend. "I can't believe she decided to come here. She's always been a jerk since elementary school."

Max lets out a deep sigh. He nearly jumps out of his own skin when he feels a large hand on his shoulder. He turns around to find the own of the hand is Ryan and thankfully not that crazy monster of a girl. "Don't worry. We're in this together. If she has a problem with one of us, she has a problem with all of us. " Max looks to the other boys for reassurance. Armand nods his head with a half smile. Kyle gives him a thumbs up as well as a grin while Chang sighs and says. "Just don't make us have to look out for you constantly. We have our limits, unlike you."

Max starts to calm down and smiles back at the young men who have become almost like family to him in a matter of only half of year.

Armand is the strategist and history buff of the five boys who always has his nose in some book. To Max he is cool, calm older brother that would listen to any problem Max may have and answer him with serious answers while still having a goofy, fun side to him.

Ryan, who was know as the big guy on campus and was his high school's star Linebacker for American Football. Till this day Max still doesn't know why Ryan was able to give up his perfect high school life to take this gamble on male's entering tankery. He serves here as the protective eldest brother that would "flip-shit" is any one harmed his friends or family.

Kyle, the fun one in the group, is always ready have a good time with his friend. When ever Max starts to feel the pressure of life, he knows he can head over to Kyle's place and the stress of the day will melt away after hours of playing video games and walking around the town.

Finally we have Chang, the brains of the group. Ooari can thank him for the 1.5 million dollars Max is sure they received with the contract signing. Heck, all the boys in the United States should be thanking him because the money may have been the deciding factor. Ever since the two have meet, Max seems to always find some way of angering him. But none the less, Chang has a nice side to his personality that Max gets to see every once in a while.

The young freshman smile at his friends that might as well be family. Then he notices. What is he to them? Just a loud freshman they are stuck with? What ever maybe the reason he is still glad to be by their sides. "Thanks guys." He says. Ryan nods his head with a smile but then looks up back towards the ship. He shouts and points. Max and the others look to where Ryan is looking and spots two girls in a standard sailor uniforms. One is holding a white sign with the Japanese characters that ruffly translate to "Male Transfers" while the other stands next to her. "I guess that's them." says Armand. "Guess so." replies Ryan, "Well this a new step on our journey of life, boys. Let's give it our all." Together, they continue towards their future that will be forever changed from here on out.

**Some Years Ago...**

Normal POV(FOCUS: The Assistant)

The pounding of man and machine against the weak steel doors echo across the hollow garage that seems to have been long since deserted. But two men, trying to desperately barrage the massive doors against the aggressors with what ever they got, still remain. One is an aged head designer for the Krupp Tank industry of the weakened German Reich while the other is his young assistant. With panic in his voice the designer says to his assistant, "Quickly Karl, we must return to my office!"

Karl stumbles over his words. "B-b-But what of the SS!?"

"Leave them! This barrier with by me the time I need! Follow me!" He shouts in return. Their white lab coats flab behind them as they run as fast as they can back to the Designer's office all the while the sounds of gun butts and fist slam against the steel doors. "Bringen Sie etwas, um diese Tür nach unten zu zerschlagen, verdammt!" shouts an SS officer. Never before, not even when in combat on the Eastern Front, has Karl know this fear: the fear of being killed by his own people.

The pounding starts to get louder and strong as the two men lock themselves in the Designer's small office. "What do we do, uncle!?" shouts Karl as the older man frantically rips open one of his filing cabinets and rapidly shifts through count-less papers and files. While still searching, Karl's uncle gives his nephew his next instruction. "Quickly Karl, I need you to move the cabinet at the far right corner!"

"To where?!"

"Anywhere, damn it, just move it!"

Karl wraps his arms around the cabinet tightly and rips it away from the wall, tossing it to the ground. Now does he see an old, dirty, and rusty drain that leads to the building's water pipes. It's definitely large enough to fit Karl. The young man turns around when he hears his uncle say, "Yes...I found it."

In his hands is a folder with multiple blue prints for some armored vehicle as well a dozens of side notes. "What is this uncle?" questions Karl. "This, my nephew, is my life's greatest achievement. This is probably the last thing I have left to my name. The SS won't just kill me, they will eradicate me from existence for what I have failed to do. Already, our home is most likely being put to the torch. You are all I have left in this world besides this. And I won't let them have either."

The uncle hands over the file stuffed full of paper of all shapes and sizes to his nephew. Karl looks into the elderly man's eyes and for the first time in his nigh-teen years on Earth does he see his uncle in tears. The uncle continues, his voiced chocked with tears. "Promise me Karl...shame...a s-s-shame I will never get to see her in the flesh b-b-but promise me that you will make her into a reality. P-p-promise me that s-s-she will taste the erosion of oxygen upon her steel, p-p-promise me that her barrel with glow red from the energy her cannon w-w-will make. But most of all, promise me that you will su-su-survive." Karl steps forward and embraces his crying uncle. By the words his uncle said Karl knows exactly what is on these papers."I promise Uncle." he whispers as he too fells tears sliding down his cheeks.

With the folder tucked away carefully in his coat, Karl pulls out the large drain. Just as his boats slam into the oil filled water an explosion rocks the very core of the building. The explosion is soon followed by the sounds of boots against the The water reaches up to his waist before he finally feels the ground. Karl turns around and looks up for a final time to his uncle.

"Why don't you come with me Uncle!? We can do this together!" he desperately pleas. But the man simply shakes his head.

"I have seen many years, lived through two world wars and fought in one. I took a gamble that involved my life and I have lost. I need my rest, Karl. But I'm glad to know that the Siegfred family won't end with my death. God bless you, nephew and God speed." Karl faces forwards once again and as he trudges through the thick liquid he can hear his uncle placing the drain back upon the large hole and moving the cabinet back into position.

Seconds later he hears the echo of the office door being thrashed down. He hears the faint voice that must be his uncle shout "Sie sind nicht Deutschland!" In no time later Karl hears a thunder storm of gun fire drowning his uncle's voice. Karl presses on through the water with the thick oil slowing him down making seem as though the hands of Death are reaching up trying to pull him down as well. The air is already stale and the heavy stench of the oil makes it's no better. The tears finally start to fall down his face like a cascading waterfall.

Never the less, he presses on.

**(A/N: Yeah I know there probably never was Siegfred tank designer that worked for the Krupp Industry but this is all made up for the benefit of the story so don't rail into me guys. Thanks and enjoy the rest of the chapter)**

**Present Day...**

Normal POV(FOCUS: Erwin)

Pencils tapping against desk tops are always annoying but it's worse having to hear them while in the middle of a timed quiz. Even worse is having an announcement intrude on the quiz while on the last question. Erwin looks up the loud speaker as the all too familiar voice of the PR manager Momo Kawashima blares into the Pre-calculus class.

"Senseis, would you please excuse all tank commanders of the Sensha-dou team as soon as possible for an emergency meeting. I repeat, Senseis, would you please excuse all tank commanders of the Sensha-dou team as soon as possible for an emergency meeting. Thank you."

The announcement ends with a wave of wonder washing over Erwin. She looks up to her teacher for her promised excusal. He nods his head in a approval. She quickly finishes the last question on the quiz. She stands up, places her Rommel replica cap upon her head and approaches the teacher, placing her quiz upon the desk. She takes her leave from the room in a quick and quiet manner.

The blond girls hums the hymn of the panzerlied as she walks through the hallways of Ooarai towards the student council office.

_Wonder what could be so important as to interrupt everyone in the middle of class? _

She then starts to think back as to the strange event that happened today that felt a bit strange. First she saw a helicopter circling around ship before it finally landed at 9 o'clock in the morning. Any chances to see the markings on it were quickly dashed when the bell for period 1 rang. The only distinct feature on it was it's dark midnight black color. She shrugs off the past memory and continues down the empty hallway.

The walk across the campus takes about 5 minutes and soon she finds her self at the office door. Erwin waits for a few seconds to see if any one else is coming behind her, but she seems to be the last to the party. So she opens the door and enters the office to find something she didn't expect. All the girls were yelling at one another! Erwin has never seen the team this badly torn apart and so deep at each other's throats. When she closed the door behind her, the commanders of Ooarai snap back to their senses and calm down.

Every one splits off into two groups with Miho, Nekota the odd commander of the Type 3 Chi-Nu and Azusa of the freshman M3 Lee are all on the left side of Anzu's desk while on the right side stands the short Midorkio better know as Sodoko, commander of the Char B1 Bis with Noriko the tomboyish commander of the Type 89, and Nakajima, the commander of the Tiger. Now Erwin sees another first: Anzu, sitting at her desk as her hand against her forehead in a frustrated look.

Erwin finally speaks. "So..ummm...Did I miss something?" Midorkio quickly snaps at Anzu, surprising Erwin. "Tell her what you did!" Momo slams her hands against the desk and glares at the leader of the PMC with her evil eye. "Don't forget she is still your president and you should treat her as such." She growls. Sodoko doesn't flinch nor hesitate but she does back off. The school president looks up to the commander of the team's StuG III.

"The ships still has one tank hidden on board and we will receive transfer students who will also be the new crew members of that tank." she says in her nonchalant voice. Erwin shrugs her shoulders in indifference. "So what? Is that what everyone is arguing over? I can't wait to meet the new girls and to find this new tank." Erwin looks over to Sodoko but her expression is one of pure anger as well as what seems to be a hint of betrayal. Before Erwin can question more, she is stopped by the voice of the team's overall commander, Miho.

"...They're not girls..."

Normal POV(FOCUS:Miho)

This was side to Erwin no one has ever seen before. Her nails dig into the edges of the wooden desk while her faces depicts no emotion once so ever. Her eyes are glued to the Student Council team glaring each one of them over.

Then...she snaps.

The girl's fist slam down upon the desk with such tremendous force that her palms come up with flashing red bruises. For once, Anzu's slick, calm face seems to have been uneased by Eriwn's sudden and violent action. "How could you have gone behind our backs and done such a thing!? Our school was a get away from those stupid, idiotic...dogs we call boys!"

Her glare at Anzu is full of hatred and betrayal. Before the president can rebuttal the girl continues her rage filled speech. "You watch and see, these 'dogs' will tear apart our precious 'sisterhood' or maybe you will do that for them! And even worse this sport is meet for our sex and our sex only! How can you stand to let them set there paws upon the controls of something that has been so sacred to our gender!? I don't believe this!"

Miho looks on as the girl's out burst continues. Miho herself also can't help but see the truth in what she is saying. Anzu has burned one of the last few bridges of separation between males and females, something that may never be undone. In alright Miho should be just as angry, but she can never find it in her heart to be as angry as Erwin is now. What is done is done and as Momo said she is the president and Miho must respect her decision. She must have done it for the better of the school, she must have. Miho looks back to Erwin, the anger still clearly on her face.

Finally Anzu speaks in her defence. "These 'dogs' as you call them, has caused half of our debt to wash way like sand at a beach. I had to do what I needed to do to save our school. Yell at me all you want but what is done is done. Just endure them for one semester, that is all I ask of all of you. They came all the way from the United States and from what I have heard they worked hard to get here, the least we can do is accept them and give them a chance."

Even after Anzu's revelation that the school debt has been greatly reduced thanks to these new students, the StuG's commander still seems to be seeing red. Erwin says nothing for a couple seconds but then suddenly she turns around, her back to the President, and proceeds to walk towards the door of the room. Miho and girls watch in silence as Erwin precedes to open the door...

...and slam slam squarely into the chest of a massive red headed boy.

The boy himself also stumbles back somewhat but Erwin finds herself on the floor. The stranger curses under his breath and before Miho can react in aid he already has hand extend down towards the fallen girl. "Sorr-errr-S-sōrī, Daijōbudesuka?" He says in Japanese with a thick American accent lingering with it. Erwin looks up to the large boy, who at this size must be a third year, if not older. She growls at him and grabs her peaked cap off the floor and pushes his hand away. Miho wonders an d worries why Erwin would be so angered as to leave in such furry and rage.

Anzu calls for her to return but it is too late. The angered blond has already pushed past the four other boys as well as the two girl sailors accompanying them. Miho sighs and watches as the five boys file into the room with a now awkward silence. Anzu finally gets a smile on her face and ends the silence. "My name is Kadotani Anzu, president of the Ooarai Girls High School. I'm the commander of the Sensha-dou team's Hetzer tank destroyer. All these girls here are my fellow commanders, including that girl that barged out of my office. I apologize for her actions, we currently have some...differences...to work out." she says in Japanese.

The tall red head gives a nervous smile and a nod. "It's no problem at all. We are glad to be here and are excited to meet you all. Allow us to introduce our selves."

Miho looks over all five of the boys as they bow before the girls and proceed introduce them selves.

The curly red head goes by the name of Ryan Kleissner. He has a large square jaw that matches with his strong and statuesque built. His small beady eyes are a thick ocean blue that make him seem tired and restless but they go well with his light complexion. He is eldest of the five at the age of 18.

The boy to his right is very much different then himself. He stands perhaps a head and a half shorter than Ryan and his hair seems to be the color of gold. Though short compared to Ryan and the others he is around the same height as all the other females in the room. Just like Ryan he is light skinned but is tanned a bit by perhaps the coastal sun. But while Ryan is large and burly, this boy, by the name of Max Turner, is small and lightly built which makes Miho wonder if he is getting all the food he needs for energy. But his dark brown are shimmering with excitement that makes her think again.

Continuing down the line is the boy that comes next in the line of height. He stands about two inches shorter than Ryan maybe three and seems to be a head taller than Max with a medium body build. He introduces him self as Chang Ruan and has the complexion of an Asian like herself but he doesn't seem Japanese, as his surname seems to say. But, his dark black hair branches out low and in multiple direction like the boys of Japan. Hidden behide his dark blue framed glasses are clear hazel brown eyes very much similar to the younger Max.

The fourth boy is similar to Chang in both height and built, looking only perhaps half an inch shorter. His hair is just as dark if not darker than Chang's but instead of being straight and branching out like Asian hair, his hair is combed down and slightly wavy. His nose is also somewhat larger which makes Miho think of the old Italian stereotype but his dark tan skin points to the possibility of Latin American ancestry. Weirdly enough, the color of his pupils is a rare color: green. He introduces himself as Armand DiCosaro, confirming Miho's suspicion of his Italian roots.

The fifth and final boy is another bespectacled boy like Chang but the similarities end there. His hair color is a dark brown that almost seems like a buzz cut but he has just a bit more hair on his head than that. His fair skin color has a sun kissed glow to it just like Max's but he stands of equal height to Armand.

After their introduction ends, Miho steps forward and returns their bows.

"We are all pleased to have meet you. My name is Nishizumi Miho, overall commander for our team. On behalf of our team, even Matsumoto Riko, the girl who barged out, we would like to welcome you." The other girls introduce themselves to the boys, some cheerfully but Sodoko, Nakajima and Noriko greet them with forced smiles. After the introductions are made, the bell ending 5th period goes off just in time.

"Everyone can head back to class except for Miho. We will continue our talk tonight at seven." says Anzu once the bells ends. All teenage girls sans the one she said to stay, file out of the room, chatting in whispers about the new and bizarre developments that has happened to their school and team. Once the door closes, Miho faces the desk and the Council once again as the boys make their way over to the desk side, leaving their light luggage at the door.

"Where do we go now?" questions Ryan. Miho observes that he seems to be the once asking the questions and in a way leading the five new boys. _Much be natural for the boys since he is the eldest,_ she presumes silently.

Anzu pulls a colored map out of her office drawer which depicts the entire school ship of Ooarai. Miho, the rest of the Student Council, and the boys gather around it as the president points to a small two story building perhaps a mile from the campus. All around it are other building similar to it but the rest of them are condemned to be destroyed. "These buildings use to be the old housing for students that didn't have any family on the ship before our large apartment complex was built. These building used to be used every where around mainland Japan when students used to be taught on land. You will be staying in the one that is still up to building code." Max lets out a frustrating groan.

"Why can't we use the nice, new complex like everyone else?"

Momo snaps at him. "Two reasons why. One because you are not the one that is in a position to make demands. Two, your crazy if you think we will allow five boys we barley know anything about stay in the same building as our female students." Max giggles childishly and mummers something in English that Chang seems to have heard and earns the him a elbow into the chest from the Asian boy.

Ryan scratches his neck sheepishly. "Yeah I guess your right about that. When will we receive our uniforms and class schedules?" Anzu thinks for a bit and then answers the boy's questions.

"Uniforms with be ready shortly, perhaps in two days, three at the most. With in those days you will not be allowed to attend classes and you all can use these days to familiarize yourself to the school and town. As for your schedules, I will give you a form to take back to your dorm before you leave my office today, and please make the stupid mistake of rushing over the elective box and filling out gardening instead of Sensha-dou."

Miho watches in amusement as all the boys slowly turn their gaze not to the young inexperienced freshman as she were expecting but to the grown up fourth year in their standards. _There must be a funny story attached to those gazes._ A clearly embarrassed Ryan coughs nonchalantly as a sign to continue the conversation. Anzu smirks before she starts to speak again.

"I hope you will all like it here and that you are ready for what is to come ahead for all of you. Nishizumi-san, could you please show them to there new dorms anyways, just in case they get lost." Miho smiles and nods her head in approval. "Of course. Please follow me, boys." The five bow in respect once more before the Student Council. Ryan looks up and into the eyes of Anzu. He speaks in a voice full of gratitude. "Thank you. Thank for the chance." Anzu actually gives him a genuine smile and not one of her cocky, arrogant smirks.

"Don't make me regret it." She says in a hard but not harsh voice.

Ryan smiles and as the six are about to leave the room, Anzu stops them with her voice. "Actually...I have one assignment to ask of you five."

They turn around and return to Anzu's desk once more. "Yuzu-san could you please retrieve the papers?" Yuzu looks confussed at first but then remembers what ever these papers maybe and rushes over to one of Anzu's filing cabinets. She returns rather quickly and places an old, dirty and water logged folder that has barley any traces left of it's original yellowish coloring upon the desk. "What is this?" Miho questions Anzu.

Yuzu replies for the President with a the voice a child may have on the day of Christmas. "I found an old file last night containing information of an armored vehicle still hidden somewhere on the ship." Miho gives a look of realization when she remembers the favor she asked of the Vice President. Anzu pulls back the folder to give everyone a good view of the vehicle. Though water logged and badly damaged, they can still make out the it's image.

It surprises her to see that it looks like her own IV. It has a similar built with about the same size in height and length, but while her tank has a flat look to the armor, this one has a slight slant to it. Not as slanted as a I-34 or a Panther but enough to give the tank better protection. The turret is the only feature of the tank that looks much different then all of the other tanks in the Ooarai arsenal. All along the turret, it has angled armor just like it's body armor but only slightly more slanted. Only on the turret's face does it have straight, flat protection. The tank's cupola seems almost none existent with it barely jutting out of the turret for what seems like only one inch. On the sides of the turret there is also two exit hatches for the gunner and loader as well as one hatch for the driver on the hull. It's cannon seems to be the same as her IV's KwK 40 L/43. By all means this seems to be a wonderful tank which makes Miho worry that if their new guest get to use it, Erwin may not be too pleased about it.

Anzu speaks before Miho gets the chance too. "Now boys, on our ship, who ever finds the tank normally gets to be the one to operate it. Your task is to look all over this ship and find it with in three days. I know it may seems like a big task for fresh new comers like you, but think of it as a test, a way to prove to me and the team that you won't be a liability to us all." Anzu pauses and looks up at the new students. Miho looks over as well and notices that none of them have the look of protest upon their face. She continues. "Plus adding to the difficulty, we don't know what tank this is and frankly we have never seen it's kind before. But that seems to be a little much, so a friend of Miho, who is a tank expert will be helping y-"

"That won't be necessary." interrupts Ryan, who now has a half smile on his face. "We too, have someone who knows a thing or two about tanks. As you said, this is a test to prove our worth to you, and it feels like cheating for you to help us."

* * *

**There is chapter two guys, once again I'm sorry for the delay but I'm sure you guys are all tired with my apologies. :( But I hope you guys liked it none the less and I can't wait for chapter 3 and I hope you can't either.**

**OC owners**

**Max Turner- Terror Dark Calws Army**

**Armand DiCosaro- me**

**Ryan Kleissner- Alexi Vasilyevich Talenski**

**Chang Ruan- Armarda**

**Kyle Robertson- Mintmaddog**

**Till Next time World,**

**GEaGlE signing off. **


	3. Not dead yet

I'm not dead, I swear! I'm just booked out of my ass and a serious procrastinator but hey, I'm back and I'm ready to roll! Sorry for being gone all this time.

My upcoming schedule

Hidden Love update- October 14th

GuP: New Challengers- October 11th

GuP: A Lost File- October 18th

Once again I apologize for being gone so long but I'm back now and I hope to see you all again in the updates!

Till Next Time World!

GEaGlE procrastinating once again!

(This chapter will be removed once the update comes into play)


	4. Chapter III

**Uneditied guys, just wanted to post something, will correct tonight. Big changes to my writing style. I no longer write in the present tense and now write in the pass tense. Hope you enjoy! Key thing to point out, the tank used the boys has changed from the one Miho saw in chapter II.**

Ryan

Ryan thought the look upon Chang's face would have been funnier if it weren't for the current circumstances. His lips were curled down in the usual frown but his brows were sharply furrowed, complementing his annoyed and yet angered glare. With his spectacles pushed up and his fingers rubbing his eyes in frustration, Chang at last found the words to speak.

"'Don't worry, we can figure it out on our own', he said. 'We don't need help' he said. Dammit Ryan, their help would have been much appreciated right about now. How could you have said that?" Chang's voice was laced with bitter sarcasm.

"Shut up. I didn't hear nor see you trying to stop me." Ryan snapped back, angered by the sour mockery.

Kyle gave the wooden table a quick and loud thud with his fist, asking for silence. Ryan and Chang complied.

"Chill guys," brokered Kyle, "Solving this problem requires a level head, so let's all just calm down, alright? Armand, what did you make of it again?"

Ryan and the three other boys gathered at the table turned their gazes to their so called 'tank expert'.

Armand's brows were furrowed as well, but in a dumbfounded way, and his emerald eyes darted over every inch of the old, and crumbling paper that had turned from white to a mucus yellow from age. His hands tugged painfully at his raven locks, the frustration he held was clear with his actions.

"I...I...I just don't know." He grumbled, "I have never seen this tank before in my entire life. It's looks like a Mark IV...but it's not. It's turret is not the III so it can't be the mystery III/IV, instead it reminds me of the Mark IV Ausf K's(?) yet the mantlet is not flat as it should be but it's rounded like a Mark III. And the Maybach engine coupled with those overlapping tracks belong to the Panther but yet this is no Panther, and what the fuck is going on with the Stuk main armament?!"

Armand ran his finger over the archaic paper, pointing at each single detail he was stating to his clueless friends.

"I just don't know anymore." He confessed before he lowered his forehead upon the table

with defeat, fatigue and a disappointed groan

Ryan and the others produced sighs of disappointment themselves, as they slid or slumped in their discomforting chairs.

"What do we do next?" Questioned Kyle, trying to get enthusiasm in his voice and the atmosphere.

Suddenly Max shoot out of his chair with renewed strength and energy.

"I know exactly what to do guys!" He exclaimed, his cheeks a rose red from excitement and a toothy smile plaster d on his lips. Without a single word more, he reached into his pocket and brandished his smart phone.

With a careful and gentle hand, he rubbed the back of the phone and said aloud with bombastic voice, "Oh heavenly forces from the land of Wifi and Google, bless us your wisdom!" The screen lit upon and Max spoke to it gently, as if it were a beautiful lover, "Camera." Max wasted no time in snapping a picture of the forgotten panzer and then whispered again, "Search this image."

Ryan watched with amusement as Chang shook his head and rolled his eyes before saying, "You won't find crap, you know."

Nonetheless, everyone, even Chang, had their eyes fixated on the small white box and it's even smaller glowing screen.

Silence fell upon them all until the phone's iconic robotic female voice spoke.

"No Results"

The groups, sans Max, all let out yet another sigh of disappointment and defeat. Max slowly lowered himself down to the hard wood floor. Ryan watched in amusement as Max slowly curled himself into a ball, the phone tucked away tightly in his fumbling hands.

It took all of Ryan's self control to save himself from an untimely burst laugher when the young freshman started to grip his shins and oscillate in place, chanting softly under his breath, "Never wrong...Never wrong...Never wrong..."

Returning to the task at hand, Ryan's voice finally spoke out once again.

"What else can we do to figure this out."

Armand's head and arms rose up from the cool table.

"I say we just suck in our balls and ask Miho and the girl who is their tank expert for help." proposed the junior.

Ryan sulked at that idea and made motion to protest, but the senior was cut off by Chang.

"I love your way of saying 'swallow our pride', and all, but I don't want the girls to have the image of us being cocky American who claimed to know it all but in actually ended up crawling for help less than a day later. We got into this mess together so I say we get out it ourselves."

Ryan nodded his head in silent agreement just as Kyle's layback voice rose up as well.

"So then how do you intend for us to solve this dilemma, Chang? We have little to no knowledge of this tank, same goes for the ship's population and infrastructure. We don't have a clue as to where to start looking. We need help, so I second the fact that we suck in our balls."

Knowing the vote was tied, Ryan proceeded to kick Max in the gut until the boy shot up from his psychotic trance on the floor and smacked his head against the bottom of the table in alarm. He quickly rebounded and joined his teammates at the table, nearly flying out of his chair in the process. That striking blonde hair of his made look all the more to Ryan.

"Suck in the balls, I say!" He exclaimed as he slammed both his hands onto the table.

Chang squinted his eyes at Max as Ryan huffed in defeat.

"Who will call them?" Question Kyle.

As he rubbed his chin in ponder, Chang responded to the question before anyone else.

"Be that it is eleven o'clock at night, I think we just wait for tomorrow. And, I say either the one who made the problem or the solution, will make the call."

As the words escaped Chang's mouth, Ryan turned to face Armand, who was siting next to him. Both sets of eyes immediately locked together, vert with auburn.

"Rock, paper, scissors?" They both said at once.

"Contenders, make ready." Exclaimed Max right after.

Ryan and Armand turned their chair to face on another. With arms and hands extend, they made ready for battle.

Chang continued from where Max left of as the three other boys rose from their chair to gather around the junior and the senior. "Best three out of five, will be crowed the victor."

"Shoot after three. Armand has the call." Finished Kyle.

The eye contact between the two competitors remained that they each mad their right hand into a fist and placed it over their left.

Ryan's fist rose up as Armand began the first count down.

"One..two..three..shoot!"

The senior smirked when he saw he took the opening round with a scissor.

"One, zero, Ryan." Announced the freshman with his left hand holding up one finger.

It was crunch time. With the best game he could muster, Ryan raised his fist over his hand when Armand began to count once more.

"One..two..three,shoot!"

"Victory always has a sweet taste to it." Ryan thought to himself as Armand complained a loud.

"Damn you." He murmured with a smile as Max reported the final score.

"Two to zero, Ryan Klessiener wins it with a good old fashion rock. Thank you all for tuning into RPS tonight, all of us at the net work wish you a-" Max's trans was interrupted by an elbow into the side from Chang. "Technical difficulties" he muttered, as he rubbed his side. Chang rolled his eyes before he spoke the obvious.

"Alright Armand, you get the prestigious honor of calling th-" he abruptly interrupted himself when the loser in question began to dial on that decrepit keyboard phone of his. "Not now! It's like 11 o'clock...at night!"

The tank boys watched in amusement as Armand quickly checked his wrist watch and guessing by the expression on his face, he was surprised with the number he saw.

"Holy crap it's eleven already?" He stuttered out.

Ryan nodded his head in conformation before he took it on himself to call it a long day for the team.

"Let's hit the hay guys, tomorrow will be yet another day."

Armand

"Ryans' right, let go to bed. Tomorrow we can ask for their help and begin the search." Kyle followed up.

Armand let his eyes wonder from his watch back to the blueprints yet again. He had a taste

"You guys go ahead. I wanna another crack at this." stated Armand.

Ryan shrugged his shoulders with indifference and rose from his chair. "Suit yourself. Just please don't stay up late."

Kyle and Chang followed soon after. The three boys left the dinning/TV/kitchen room and took the hallway that was behind the dinning table, their respective rooms. Chang went to the left with yawn while Ryan and Kyle, still debating over whither it was the right call to ask for aid or not, make a turn to the right. The house that was given to them by the school was an old traditional Japanese boarding home with 4 rooms and a single story, just enough for 3 bed chambers, the multipurpose room Armand was in and a single bathroom.

The rock paper scissor Gods may had been against him in the match over the call but in the grand tournament earlier that day for the bedrooms, Armand was crowned supreme and took a room all to himself.

Only when he sat back down at the table did he notice that Max had stayed behind, twirling his thumbs.

"What are you doing here Max? Go to bed." Inquired and then ordered Armand.

The young freshman shook his head in defiance and replied with, "Nope. I may not be able to help you with this, but the least I can do is stay up with you."

Armand lips curled into a warm smile but none the less he still shook his head in rejection. "You don't have to do that," pausing, he then said in the motherest voice he could make, "You need your rest if you are to grow to be as tall as Ryan."

Yet again, Max shook his head, but faster this time, causing his random golden locks to shake with his head. "You didn't have to stay up with me on those days I needed help with APEuro and yet you did. So quit being a hard ass and acting like my mother and just let me stay up."

Max may be younger than him, but that the sense of maturity that Max can some times have never ceased to amaze Armand. He need not say nor do more than smile and resume to the seemingly impossible task at hand.

The worst part about the work wasn't the fact that the tank was a mystery but that his eye lids would grow heavier with every passing second. Armand was willing to pay top money to be able to see his half awake and half asleep facial expression at that time, as one eye struggled to stay open while the other struggled to even open. In an attempt to rouse himself awake, the junior slapped his cheeks and shook his head, but to no avail. He was going to crash, no doubt about it, now it was only simply a matter of when, for with each minute that passed, his neck lowered his head ever closer to that soft and smooth table. Just as he was about to fall into the soothing hands of Hypnos, he heard the sudden chime of the door bell resound through out his home. Armand initially shrugged off the phantom like chime as a figment of his imagination, for he couldn't believe someone was at the door at this time of night, but when the crisp ding dong returned again for a second time, he opened his eyes and stood up in his chair.

With what energy he could muster, Armand made his way out of the dinning/TV/kitchen room. Where Ryan and the others departed the room from the doorway behind the table, Armand had to stammer forward and pass the table, leaving through the doorway next to the small 20 inch box tv given to them by the school, and into the genkan. As he felt his way through the darkness that greeted him, the door bell rung for a third and final squinted eyes and with what little light the front porch lamp could offer, the junior could make out the shadow of a person but before he could open the door the shadow withdrew into the darkness of the Pacific night. Armand opened up the blinds for precaution out of habit before opening the door. The person was gone but at his feet was a small stack of papers, neatly stapled and stacked together. For just and i instant, Armand saw a shadow scouring across the street, heading towards a distant district of homes. As the papers were scooped up into his hands, he took the quick moment as an opportunity to relish in the crisp and clean pacific winds that kissed his cheeks and to bask in the peaceful lights of the shops and houses that peppered the street. Armand murmured a thank you to the skipping shadow and retired back into the boarding home.

With eyes still half asleep, Armand evaluated the work he found on the doorstep with a snoring Max at the table. His eyes jerked awake and widen when he realized it was a perfectly dissected copy of the Panzerkampfwagen that was making his day and night miserable. Every piece of equipment and every instrument was evaluated to perfection. Armand's suspicion that the armor was in fact multiple tanks meshed together was confirmed for the engine was the V-12 Maybach HL230, the engine of choice for the Panther tank, while the armor on the tank was sloped to the exact degree as seen upon the Panzer IV Ausf Krupp prototype. But the tank was not all roses and poppies. Who ever did the evaluation noticed before the junior that Stuk main armament upon the panzer IV turret ring was far too heavy and proved that turret traverse looked to be abysmal. While the tank looked to be quick and well armored, the vehicle was to act not like a normal medium tank but rather as a flexible tank destroyer, much like the early American T67 and it's much more successful successor, the M18 Hellcat.

Armand couldn't contain his excitement for much long. A gift from the gods was placed before him, for not only did he finally understand this tank with a little aid, but when he flipped the packet to the next page, he found a list of locations upon the ship that were title with three simple English words in sloppy penmanship : "Where to Look". Four locations were disclosed with a sample photo of each spot next to it's short description and reason. The number one place to look according to the midnight shadow was the forest training grounds behind Ooarai's tank yard. Following close behind was the underworld of the ship, which included the lower levels that have long since been forgotten. The third was an abandoned parking complex on the ship's north end. A third page was attached to the other two, but this page was different from the others. An elderly women's photo was clipped to a paper that had single instruction on it. "She is the eldest person on the ship. She may have answers to some of your question. Good luck!"

Armand smiled and placed the packet back on the table. A victory was a victory, and it always tasted sweet. The junior's eyes drifted to the friend sleeping next to him. Max was in a dream cloud 9 anGd it shamed Armand that he had to wake him.

Hope you enjoyed it, good to be back guys

till next time world,

GEaGlE signing off


End file.
